I can program fresh SMD PIC12F675 with the melabs U2 USB programmer via the melabs 8/14 pin programming adapter but that assumes loose chips before soldering to the board. I have my candle board set up for ICSP and I have a short, ~35 mm, cable between the U2 and the board with the 12F675 on it. That cable is the exact one I used when I first built the boards and I do not recall ever having any problems. Now it definitely does not work so I suspect there may have been some timing tweaks in the melabs programmer code that render my ICSP lead invalid.

I will remove all the PIC12F675 from the boards and reprogram them off board.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers
Brian